As Ann and I concluded eating our meal and was carrying our plates to the kitchen, Robbie said, “I think I’m hungry. I’ve got a little hunting to do.”
“Don’t go love. Try a side of that beef rare,” Ann said. I think she didn’t want both of them out in the woods together.
“You know I don’t like domesticated animals. Besides the deer are getting to plentiful with all the food and only one natural enemy. And that’s me,” Robbie said.
I walked to the sink and washed off my dish and placed it in the dishwasher along with Ann’s plate, Robbie stood and headed for the door which led to the solarium. On opening the door he jumped back in surprise and before he could control himself he had changed into a large grey wolf.
“What is wrong with you, Terry? You should never creep up on a werewolf. You could have gotten your head cut off,” Robbie said changing back. “Now I have to get some clothes,” he said holding his hand in front of his cock.
“Please do. I don’t like strangers looking at my man’s ample assets,” Ann said with a chuckle. Robbie rushed to the laundry room and grabbed a pair jeans and headed back to hear me screaming.
“Have you lost your mind, Terry? No don’t answer that. Did anyone see you? I glanced up to see Robbie standing without a shirt. His body taught and muscular but that wasn’t what caught my eye. It was the expression on his face as if he could kill Terry. There wasn’t any love lost between Terry and Robbie. Neither one trusted the other. They were mortal enemies now that Terry was half human and half vampire if there is such a thing.
“What did you do,” Robbie walked up to Terry looking her in the eyes. No don’t answer that either. She fed on a human.” He turned to me, “I thought she only took the blood of animals?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Terry tried to explain, “I went to the zoo to feed on one of those poor animals who wanted to be put out of their misery.”
“How did you know they wanted to be out of their misery,” Ann interjected. Terry turned to Ann.
“Because they seemed to know what I was and never howled or complained.”
“You went to feed on a wolf?” Terry looked at Robbie with an apologetic smile. “I should rid myself of you now before you do any more damage,” he said.
“Just you try,” Terry said not moving away from Robbie. I stepped in between both of them.
“Robbie you can’t do that. She didn’t take an animal’s life. Terry has human blood on her clothes. Tell me what happened, Terry.”
She turned and walked to the chair and sat. “Do you have any wine, Ann?”
“Yes, I have some over here.” And Ann reached for a bottle on the counter and three glasses.
“I was out and decided it was better to feed on one of those poor animals when I came across one of the zoo keepers. He was beating a lion cub in one cage and taunting the mother. Each time he would strike the cub on his mouth, and on the hind legs, the cub would cry out and the mother would try to get out of the cage. She was wearing her teeth down and you know what would happen if she doesn’t have any teeth.”
I walked on him without him realizing it and I took him by his neck and the rest you know.”
“No we don’t know,” Robbie said with a dry tone. “Did anyone see you and did you clean up the blood?”
“How was I to clean up the blood?” He turned to the small flat screen on the isle counter and turned on the news.
There have been another killing at the Seattle zoo and this time it wasn’t an animal. There have been too many of these mysterious deaths and happenings to go unnoticed. Detective Ryan Cole said that he would get to the bottom of these latest killings and kidnappings.
“Do you see what I’m talking about,” Robbie said looking to me.
“I can control her, Robbie. We have no place to go. We have to stay here,” I said pleading. He watched at me with his thick raised eyebrow. Then he looked at Ann. Always with that ready smile which makes you welcome.
“She will have to behave herself or I will be forced...” And he didn’t say anything because he looked to Ann and she shook her head which calmed him. She walked over to Robbie and he forgot about his night hunt. She stood on tiptoes to rake her hand through his thick wavy hair and his eyes lowered and the wrinkles of his forehead smoothed.
“Let’s go to bed, Robbie, it’s a full moon tonight.” Ann grabbed his hand and his face lightened up and they left me and Terry in the kitchen.
Turning quickly to face Terry I said, “What do you have to say for yourself, Terry?” My voice low, my tone firm.
She didn’t meet my eyes. She looked downward and bit her lip like a little girl. Tears welled in her eyes. “Every time I try to do good, something bad happens.”
“Nothing worse could happen than what’s about to occur. If Detective Cole tracks you back here then we have a problem. Until then I will forget what happened and hope Robbie does the same.”
“If Detective Cole tracks me here, I will kill him,” Terry said.
“Haven’t you learned anything? You can’t do that. What is wrong with you?” This whole ordeal with Terry was making me crazy. I couldn’t get through to her that she can’t go around killing people. Some might deserve it but I wasn’t going to tell Terry that who knows what she might do.
“I don’t know,” she said, since I’ve had a taste for human blood, I want to feed on humans especially men. I can’t get enough of it.”
“That’s why Sebastian chose animals. If you want to be a beautiful immortal than you have to start by hunting like Robbie. Maybe he could give you pointers.” Terry put her head on my shoulder and wept.
“I want to be like you again.”
“But you can’t, Terry. It doesn’t work that way. We are both past that. Do you think I wanted this to ever happen? But it did, and it does no good for us to wish for what we can’t have or never will have again. I want Sebastian and I know that’s impossible.”
“He has to come for me. He promised me he would change me if I kept you safe,” she said her large brown almond eyes searching mine hoping I had an answer. She had done a poor job of protecting me. With her random killings, she may have made things worse, but I didn’t want her to feel terrible by telling her that. I turned away from her and I rolled my eyes and exhaled.
Opening the fridge I checked for food I could consume. Ann had it full with all kinds of meat and vegetables. I was depressed and I searched around for something sweet or salty. I walked to the cabinet and checked for snacks and coffee. I couldn’t forget the coffee. She had every kind of coffee a coffee addict needed. She had plenty of cookies and chips. I pulled down a bag of chips and opened it and savored the taste.
“Oh I forgot. I brought you a kitten,” Terry said.
“A kitten? What did you do with it?” I said looking around.
“I hid it in that solarium with all those beautiful flowers.”
“Are you sure you didn’t bring it for you?” I questioned. Terry opened the door and walked out to the sun room to retrieve it. She came back immediately holding it in her arms.
“It’s awfully large for a kitten,” I said.
“Why every time I want to do something for you, you question everything,” Terry said reaching for a bowl and opening the fridge for milk.
“I apologize. I’m having a bad day. I’m going up to my room. Keep the kitten in your room for now.”
As I walked out and headed for the stairs, there came a ringtone. It was the doorbell. I peeped around the column in the foyer. From the silhouette it was a man about six feet. I tried to see who it was through the bedeviled door but his face appeared fuzzy and distorted. It appeared to be a human so I opened the door.
“What are you doing here, Zoey?” I looked and my mouth fell open.
“How did you get in this estate, Detective Cole?”
“I thought this address belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wolff.”
“It does. Ann Wolff is my cousin. You said that I couldn’t stay at my parent’s home and the hotel wasn’t what I wanted,” I tried explaining to him but he was a detective and I’m sure he sniffed a lie somewhere. I withheld the name of the hotel, and hoped he didn’t ask because that would be another lie I would have to tell, because of the present Terry left behind by the name of Blake.
“Can I come in,” he said.
“It’s late Detective Cole, but only for a few minutes. My cousin and her husband is sleeping.”
He stepped into the foyer on the black and white marble flooring. I didn’t let him go any further. “What is it?” At the same time I prayed Terry wouldn’t come out with her bloody clothes and the cat. I couldn’t help thinking about the cat and how it didn’t look like any domestic cat I had ever seen. But the cat was the least of our worries.
How did he find me was on my mind and I couldn’t help but be nervous for lots of reasons. One because Robbie might find out Detective Ryan Cole had made a visit here. And another because he might make a dreadful connection between my father’s death and the death at the zoo.
The entire time Ryan was talking to me I couldn’t concentrate on anything he had said, but for thinking that Terry who manages to do everything wrong, will come out of the kitchen and Ryan will know and try to call for backup, and he will die and Robbie will try to kill Terry for killing someone in his house.
My life had gotten too complicated even for me.
The last words I heard was him calling my name twice, “Zoey. Zoey. Did you hear what I said?”
“What?”
“I asked you to have lunch with me tomorrow?”
“Yes. Of course.” I said anything to get him out of the house before all hell broke loose.
My acceptance of his invitation appeared to take him by surprise, and he wanted to leave as much as I wanted him to go, before I changed my mind because he headed for the door and opened it, and then he turned and said, “You need to get that lock on the gate fixed. You don’t want anyone getting into this compound. There are animals out there killing humans and animals, and draining them of blood.”
“Draining them of blood?” I tried to sound as if that was an impossibility. I tried to make my face show surprise. I was never an actress in school, but I put on the best act of my life in front of Ryan. “I’ll tell my cousin and she’ll make sure her husband does something to protect us. That’s monstrous draining someone’s blood from their body.” I placed my hands around my waist and shook.
Ryan touched me and almost brought me to his arms. For a moment the act was too convincing and I thought he would stay to protect me, but he didn’t.
He stepped outside and I closed the door before he turned around again. I took a long hard breath and closed my eyes and when I opened them, Terry was standing behind me.
“Who was that?”
“Don’t do that, Terry. You can’t sneak up on me. I almost screamed. “That was Detective Cole. Now there are more problems we can’t clean up. And if Robbie discovers that Ryan came by here he will tell you to go. But I don’t want you to go but you may have to. What will you do without me?” I said. I wanted her to tell me that she would be fine and I would have felt better but instead she said what I didn’t want to hear.
“Die.”
“Don’t say that, Terry. You will do perfectly well without me. Where is the cat?”
“I let him out. It will be better for him to learn how to hunt his own food. You know I know about cats. I’ve had a hard day and I’m going to bed,” she said. And she left me standing worrying about her and what to do next.
Looking around in Ann and Robbie’s large spacious home I whispered, “Where are you Sebastian. Can’t you see that I need you? You’ve left me again when I want you so much. Come back to me if you can hear me.”